English speaking vacancies in Holland: Patent Attorney

Friday 17 February 2012

Patent Attorney

TomTom - Amsterdam (Amsterdam Area, Netherlands)

Job Description

Your opportunity
The Patent Attorney is responsible for managing all patent prosecution matters within TomTom. In addition, since the majority of patent prosecution is handled in-house, the job also entails a significant amount of direct patent prosecution work.

Your main tasks will be:
* Management of TomTom’s global patent and design portfolios. Ensuring that all prosecution matters relevant to the portfolios are dealt with by the relevant due dates.
* Prosecution of TomTom’s European patent portfolio. This includes preparing or approving all substantive responses relating to TomTom’s European patents and patent applications.
* Instructing and managing all of TomTom’s outside counsel in patent prosecution matters. Providing instructions for foreign counsel to respond to official communications.
* Maintaining of an overview of TomTom’s patent portfolio for prosecution and litigation purposes.
* Preparing draft official responses in respect of US applications, for sign off by a US attorney.
* Representing TomTom at the EPO. Dealing with any matters that require direct representation at the EPO offices, such as oral proceedings before the Examining or Opposition divisions.
* Ensuring that patent administrators are suitably instructed and overseeing their work.
* Training one European trainee attorney and one US agent. Ensuring that their work is correct and suitable for filing with the relevant patent offices.
* Generating a budget prediction. Predicting the spending that will be incurred by the department in relation to patent and design prosecution.
* Training patent administrators via tutoring for the CIPA formalities course.
* Speaking at external conferences on behalf of TomTom.

Your profile
* Qualified European Patent Attorney specialising in electronics or computer-related technology.
* One or more years of post-qualification experience.
* Ideally a Chartered Patent Attorney (UK)
* Experience of global patent prosecution required, particularly US patent prosecution.
* University degree in science or engineering.

Business Unit
The IP Creation Department is responsible for the protection of TomTom products and services against unauthorized copying by third parties. By obtaining and enforcing intellectual property rights, such as patents and trademarks, TomTom can prevent the competition from reproducing our unique solutions. The IP Creation Department is also responsible for fighting counterfeit goods and for safeguarding the company's single most valuable asset, the TomTom brand.

Our Organisation
Founded in 1991, TomTom is the world’s leading supplier of location and navigation products and services focused on providing all drivers with the world’s best navigation experience. Headquartered in Amsterdam, TomTom has 3,500 employees and sells its products in over 40 countries.

Our products include portable navigation devices, in-dash infotainment systems, fleet management solutions, maps and real-time services, including the award winning HD Traffic.

Our working environment is an innovative, fun and dynamic one, full of agile; relentlessly customer focused self starters and entrepreneurs.
Our core values; open spirit, passion for results, innovative thinking and customer driven remain at the roots of how we work and we cherish our pioneering spirit.

Bron: http://www.tomtom.jobs/apply.aspx?JobOpeningId=20422

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Introduction of the ‘European Blue Card’

As from 19 June 2011 the Netherlands has a new purpose of stay: the European Blue Card. The European Blue Card is a separate purpose of stay in addition to the existing National Highly Skilled Migrant Programme. The EU Blue Card Council Directive is intended for highly skilled foreign nationals who do not have EU, EEA or Swiss nationality, and who wish to work in one of the member states of the EU. The Directive is also meant to make it easier to settle in another EU member state. A residence permit will always be required in that other member state, however. To obtain this residence permit the employee must comply with the conditions applicable in that member state.

The conditions for residence in the Netherlands as an EU Blue Card holder are stricter than those for residence as a Highly Skilled Migrant. The employee must have a contract for highly qualified employment for at least one year, earning at least EUR 60,000 gross (in 2011). The employee must have completed a course of higher education lasting at least three years. The employee must prove this by having his diploma assessed by Nuffic. For a regulated profession, a competent authority will take decisions about the admission to that profession.

Advantages
One of the advantages of the EU Blue Card is that it is easier for an EU Blue Card holder and his family members to settle in another EU member state at a later date. After eighteen months foreign nationals who have an EU Blue Card are exempted from the provisional residence permit (MVV) requirement, if they want to work in another EU member State. In this second member state the employee must submit an application for a residence permit as a holder of an EU Blue Card. Each member state may implement the directive in slightly different ways. If someone holds a Blue Card in the Netherlands, this does not mean that the requirements are also met in other member states.

Another advantage is that after having stayed lawfully with the EU Blue Card holder in the Netherlands for two years, the family members may apply for a residence permit for ‘continued residence’. For other purposes of stay this is only possible after having stayed lawfully in the Netherlands for three years. The family members must have resided legally and continuously within the territory of an EU member state for at least five years, however. An employee who has stayed legally in the Netherlands as an EU Blue Card holder for two years may apply for the status of ‘long-term resident as a non-EU member country national’. He must have resided legally and continuously within EU territory for five years and must comply with the other conditions for this purpose of stay.

Highly skilled migrants from outside of the EU

A highly skilled migrant is a migrant who comes to the Netherlands to be employed, and has a gross annual income of at least €47,565, or €34,881 if he/she is under thirty. This income requirement does not apply if the employee enters service for certain functions in an educational or research institution. For information on the specific functions to which this clause applies, you can inquire at the IND office for labour and highly skilled migrants. When a foreign national has been granted residence in the Netherlands as a highly skilled migrant, the employer of the highly skilled migrant is not required to be in possession of a work permit for that foreign national.

Professional soccer players, ministers of religion, teachers of religion and prostitutes are not eligible for a residency as highly skilled migrant.

Important!
The amounts stated above will be indexed every year as of 1 January.